Directors

Charles Bell is completing his PhD in sociology at Wayne State University. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in school psychology. Charles’ research focuses on school discipline, mass incarceration, policing, and drug sentencing.

He has presented his research at national conferences and served in a variety of leadership positions throughout the Detroit community. Charles also teaches criminal justice and social inequality courses at Eastern Michigan University and Oakland University.

Charles' interest in wrongful convictions stems from evidence that shows approximately three individuals are exonerated every week in the United States. As a result of the startling exoneration rate and the impact wrongful convictions have on families, Charles is deeply dedicated to helping those who are affected by this tragic experience.

A graduate of Wayne State University, Kate received her degree in Business Administration and Marketing. Most of her career has been involved with sales, as well as raising 7 children with Bill.

Intimate understanding of crime victim’s rights and psychology, as well as strong family ties to the justice department, Kate has had a lifelong interest in U.S. justice and law.

Her passion is to help improve systemic wrongs in America’s criminal justice and legal systems. Her studies in January 2007 when she attended a grad level course, Wrongful Convictions taught by Marvin Zalman, brought her to help form Proving Innocence.

Bill is the Network Administrator at SEMCOG (Southeast Michigan Council of Governments), working in computer technology.

Growing up in the Chicago area, Bill received a B.A. from Northwestern University.

He has always had a heart for oppressed people. When his wife, Kate, took the class Wrongful Convictions taught by Dr. Marvin Zalman at Wayne State University, he became keenly interested and after a little exposure felt a calling. After connecting with Bill Proctor, he hasn't looked back. Though not having any experience with non-profit's, Bill and Kate helped found PI with Bill Proctor and has remained actively involved ever since, including the development and maintenance of PI's original website.

Bill and Kate have been married for 16 years and have 7 children, ages 23 to 37. You may e-mail Bill by clicking here.

Michelle has had her own unfortunate experience with wrongful conviction. Her younger brother, Roy, served prison time in Pennsylvania for crimes he did not commit. After witnessing the devastation wrought by a justice system that too often fails the innocent, Michelle sought out Proving Innocence and offered her support. She is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Wayne State University.

Dr. Zieva Dauber Konvisser’s diverse career has evolved from pharmaceutical chemist to automotive executive to earning a post-“retirement” PhD in human development. She is a Fellow of the Institute for Social Innovation at Fielding Graduate University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Wayne State University. As a researcher, her work focuses on the human impact of traumatic events, such as terrorism, genocide, combat, and wrongful conviction, and the possibility of positive change. Her passion is to collect and share the “stories” – the oral histories or testimonies – of survivors of traumas – to make known the human stories behind the headlines. She is the Oral Historian at the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington Hills, MI, served on the National Commission on American Jewish Women, and is currently on the international board of the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma, the advisory board of Strength to Strength, and the board of Proving Innocence. She is the author of Living Beyond Terrorism: Israeli Stories of Hope and Healing and publishes and presents her scholarly work both nationally and internationally. Whether in the laboratory, the parts distribution center, the streets of Jerusalem, or the boardroom, she has always been driven by a commitment to make a positive difference in people’s lives and the communities in which they live and work.

Zieva was recently chosen Person of the Weekon The Splash, a local area television station.

Errol Liverpool was born in Guyana, South America, and is the seventh of thirteen children. He holds a BA in Theology from the University of Southern Caribbean (1980), and an MA in Counseling from Andrews University, Berrien Springs Michigan (1986). He also holds a PhD. in Counselor Education from Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan (2001).

He is the President of Clear Choices Counseling and Psychiatry, a full service out-patient psychiatric facility. He has served as an adjunct professor at Wayne State University since 1998. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit, Mercy. And currently serves in the same capacity at Spring Arbor University. Dr. Liverpool became interested in wrongful convictions after watching a 60 Minutes piece in (1984) on Lenell Geter, a 26 year old African American mechanical engineer, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for holding up a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise, a crime he did not commit.

Errol and his wife, Nathalie, wed in 1981, have two adult daughters, Toula and Meika, who are both married. Dr. and Mrs. Liverpool are the proud grandparents of two beautiful granddaughters.

Dr. Liverpool is member of several professional organizations and has written several articles. He is passionate about lending his skills and expertise to those who are in need, and has given expert testimony in several custody cases. Dr. Liverpool is an ordained minister and is passionate about fighting for the wrongfully convicted.

William N. (Bill) Proctor, founder of Proving Innocence, was an award-winning journalist, reporter, producer, and anchorperson whose career of nearly fourty years spaned electronic media, radio, television, and documentaries. He concluded his career as senior staff reporter for WXYZ-TV in Southfield, MI. In May 2013, Bill "retired" and started Bill Proctor and Associates, a communications consulting firm.

In the mid-1990s, he produced a series of specials on the slaying of community-college student, Scott Macklem. Through his investigations, Bill became convinced that Frederick Freeman (Temujin Kensu), the man convicted of killing Macklem, was not guilty. His passion for redressing this injustice led Bill to found Proving Innocence in 2007.

A graduate of the University of Maryland, Bill received his degree in Sociology and Corrections with a minor in Journalism. He has been married to his wife Miranda for more than twenty years. They have three children and three grandchildren.

David Sanders is retired Executive Vice President of Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (MAC). MAC is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving Greater Detroit’s quality of life and creating economic opportunity through regional cooperation.

A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Sanders received a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University and a Master of Urban Planning from Wayne State University. He is also a graduate of the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Sanders is a Charter Member of the American Institute of Certified Planners as well as a graduate of Leadership Detroit. He currently serves as a Board Member and Secretary of the Detroit Midtown Academy, a public charter school in Detroit.

Ashley Werry is a Commercial Underwriter and the National Business Coordinator with Chicago Title Insurance Company.

During her time as an undergraduate student at Appalachian State University, Ashley was introduced to wrongful convictions by one of her professors. She obtained a bachelor’s of pre-law and a bachelor’s of criminal justice and worked for a criminal defense attorney in Boone, North Carolina for three years. It was there that she became more familiar with the injustices of the criminal system. Her passion for justice led her to graduate school at Wayne State University in the Criminal Justice Department where she met Dr. Marvin Zalman. Dr. Zalman further exposed her to miscarriages of justice and introduced her to Proving Innocence.